More than $710,000 spent to date in investigation, health officials say

More than $710,000 spent to date in investigation, health officials say

Share

Shares

Copy Link

{copyShortcut} to copy
Link copied!

Updated: 11:29 AM CDT Sep 18, 2013

TULSA, Okla —

The Oklahoma State Department of Health and Tulsa Health Department said a single case of patient-to-patient transmission of the hepatitis C virus occurred in the practice of a Tulsa dentist under investigation since March.

Health investigators said Dr. Wayne Scott Harrington used dirty equipment and expired medication. Officials originally said Harrington may have exposed up to 7,000 patients to hepatitis B and C and HIV.

In total, the Oklahoma Public Health Laboratory has completed testing for 4,202 people. Eighty-nine patients tested positive for hepatitis C, five for hepatitis B and four for HIV. An unknown number of people also sought testing through their private health care provider.

The OSDH and Tulsa Health Department released the interim status report on the results of their public health investigation on Wednesday.

On March 28, public health officials announced they were notifying current and former patients of the practice that they may have been exposed to blood-borne viruses at Harrington’s Tulsa and Owasso offices. Health officials recommended these patients have their blood drawn for testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV infection at free screening clinics established at the Tulsa Health Department, Oklahoma City-County Health Department and other county health departments in the state. The free screening clinics were available through June 28.

According to the released statement, Findings indicated there was only one event of patient-to-patient transmission of hepatitis C virus occurring in the practice. Genetic-based testing of patient specimens by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided laboratory confirmation of this finding, officials said.

“This is the first documented report of patient-to-patient transmission of hepatitis C virus associated with a dental setting in the United States,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Kristy Bradley. “While dental procedures are generally safe, this reinforces the importance of adhering to strict infection control procedures in dental settings.”

Based on current Oklahoma disease prevalence data for hepatitis B and C and HIV, health officials said they recognized some of the screening results would be positive for infection not related to dental procedures at the Harrington practice.

The CDC said it recommends one-time screening of hepatitis C for all Baby Boomers, persons born between 1945 and 1965, even if they do not have symptoms of liver disease or feel sick. Among the former dental patients who were screened and newly identified as having hepatitis C, 56 percent were over the age of 50, according to officials. Early identification and treatment of hepatitis C is important to prevent liver damage, cirrhosis and even liver cancer and can prevent the further spread of disease, health officials said.

“For every new infection prevented by this public health response, $30,000 to $40,000 will be saved in associated health care costs,” said Tulsa Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dart. “Infectious disease control is a core function of the public health system, and when transmission of disease is apparent, it is our job to identify the problem and reduce the chance that other people will get sick.”

Public health costs associated with this infectious disease response to date total more than $710,000, including a combination of federal, state and local public health resources, officials said. Both the Tulsa Health Department and the OSDH indicated they would continue to explore opportunities to recover costs associated with the recommended screening and laboratory testing.

Genetic testing of the HIV specimens for potential connection to the Harrington practice is ongoing at the CDC, according to the statement released Wednesday.

“While our investigation documents the transmission of hepatitis C, we have no reason to believe the hepatitis B cases resulted from exposure in this dental practice,” said Bradley.

Test results of the HIV specimens are due over the next several weeks, officials said. A final report summarizing the oral healthcare-associated public health investigation and response will be published after all aspects of the investigation have been completed.